Good evening.

So nice to be back in our nation's capital.

In his immortal play, a man for all seasons,

Robert Bolt provides a fictional account of an argument between Sir Thomas Moore,

who served as the Chancellor of England, and would later become

the patron saint of lawyers and judges, and his son-in-law, William Roper.

The argument is about the demands of fidelity to both law and morality.

In the course of the argument, Moore pleads the law, Roper, the law.

I know what's legal, not what's right.

And I'll stick to what's legal.

Roper then makes two provocative charges against Moore.

First, Roper asserts to Moore, then you set man's law above gods. More responds in the

negative. No, far below. But let me draw your attention to a fact. I'm not God. The currents and

eddies of right and wrong, which you find such plain sailing, I can't

navigate. I'm no voyager. But in the thickets of the law, oh, there I'm a forester. I doubt if

there's a man alive who could follow me there, thank God. Later, roper charges, so now you'd give the devil

benefit of law. To that charge, Moore responds to the affirmative and ask a question of roper.

Yes, what would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the devil.

Roper then falls into the trap when he answers,

I'd cut down every law in England to do that.

More then offers the most memorable lines of the entire play.

Oh, and when the last law was down and the devil turned round on you, where would you

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